On This Day In Entertainment History John Legend Became This First Black Man To Achieve EGOT Status

John Legend becomes first Black man to achieve EGOT status

He also is the youngest to earn a place in the prestigious club.

John Legend is living up to his namesake.

On Sunday (Sept. 9), the multifaceted musician, activist and creator made history in a couple of ways. First, he earned a coveted place in the prestigious EGOT club by taking home an Emmy for his role in the NBC musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. As such, the accomplishment also marks the first time a Black man has earned an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award, as well as makes him the youngest person to achieve the elite status in history.

Legend’s victory was celebrated alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, who also won in the same category for their work on Jesus Christ Superstar. As a result of taking home an Emmy, each completed their EGOT status and, respectively, became the 13th, 14th and 15th performers to hit the impressive achievement.

To date, Legend has earned 10 Grammy Awards, an Oscar for Best Original Song (2015’s “Glory” for the movie Selma), and a co-producing Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play for the Broadway production Jitney(2017). He now is adding an Outstanding Variety Special (Live) Award for his work as a producer on Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, as well as has the opportunity to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie (the winners will be revealed in full next week).

Other EGOT holders include Audrey Hepburn, Mel Brooks, Rita Moreno, and Whoopi Goldberg, the latter of which became the first Black woman to earn a place in the legendary club.

Taking to social media, Legend shared his reaction to earning an Emmy and becoming an EGOT, writing, “Before tonight, only 12 people had won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony in competitive categories. Sirs Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice and I joined that group when we won an Emmy for our production of their legendary show [‘]Jesus Christ Superstar.[‘] So happy to be part of this team. So honored they trusted me to play Jesus Christ. So amazed to be in such rarefied air.”

His wife, Chrissy Teigen, also celebrated the incredible milestone, sharing that her and Legend decided to end the night by making special “EGOT pancakes.”

The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, set to be hosted by SNL ‘s Michael Che and Colin Jost, will air live on NBC next week, on September 17.